ANESTHESIA (2016)

Greetings again from the darkness. The comparisons to Crash, the 2006 Oscar winner for Best Picture, will be numerous and understandable. However, rather than an expose’ on racial tension, writer/director/actor Tim Blake Nelson turns his pen and lens towards the somewhat less profound, though still fruitful subject matter of suburban angst amidst the educated elite.

An opening featuring a violent mugging on the stoop of a NYC brownstone grabs our attention quickly, and rather than follow the immediate aftermath, we are instead taken back in time to study the characters and events leading to that tragic moment. The tangled web of intertwined stories is made up of no fewer than fifteen different characters, each of whom is impacted by what happens in that opening sequence.

Sam Waterston plays a beloved Columbia University Philosophy Professor who is exceedingly happily married to Glenn Close. Director Tim Blake Nelson plays their son, who is married to Jessica Hecht, and together they have a teenage son and daughter (Ben Konigsberg, Hannah Marks). Michael K Williams plays a big shot attorney who forces his best friend (K Todd Freeman) into drug rehab with a renowned doctor (Yul Vazquez), while Gretchen Mol plays the mother of two daughters and wife of Corey Stoll.

All of the above might seem simple enough, but Mr. Nelson’s script jumbles things up for each character … just like what happens in real life. Waterston discovers that his prized pupil (Kristen Stewart) has psychological issues and needs professional help – just as he decides it’s time to retire from teaching. While their kids are smoking pot and exploring sexual frontiers, Hecht and Nelson are dealing with a medical dilemma. During his rehab, Freeman is quietly confronted by a nurse while being let down by his only friend; and as Ms. Mol turns to the bottle to numb her daily pain, her hubby is making plans with someone else (Mickey Sumner) … and China may or may not play a role. Whew!!

Daily life creates many opportunities. Some of these turn out good, while others seem destined to create pain. It’s that pain … sometimes quite arbitrary … and how we deal with it, which is at the core of these characters and their stories. There is also the always-present quest for truth and search for the meaning of life. We know we are in for a ride when Waterston’s character says “I used to believe in nothing. Now I believe in everything.” Worlds colliding at every turn keep the pace of the film brisk, and the familiar cast of actors allows us to easily accept each of the characters. A bit more polish on the script could have elevated this, but even as is, the film delivers a worthy punch, and has us questioning if we should be “planting cabbages” (Montaigne).

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2016 at 5:48 pm and is filed under Drama. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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2 Responses to ANESTHESIA (2016)

I believe this to be one of the top most moving films I have encountered in my life. So very simple in it’s depiction of modern families and the bits of drama within each, the writer used bits and pieces of philosophy to paint such vivid and bold brush strokes that run from the first until the last scene that make this a stand out film. Sam Waterson’s smiles and his obvious love and appreciation for life made it easy to let him wax philosophical about life and where it may or may not be taking us. This was my second ride through this film and I quickly remembered that I had enjoyued this trip the first time around but was not certain why. At the end of this second go around I knew I had to make a comment if for no other reason than to be certain this movie is planted into my psyche as one of the very best in my life.

It’s always nice when you connect with a film and its characters and message. Sam Waterston has a certain openness to his acting that draws us in. There is a lot going on with the various characters- and everything seems grounded in the real world.